Utility companies often need to excavate in order to lay new conduits, such as cables, pipes or ducts, or in order to repair existing conduits. To avoid disrupting the underground equipment of other utility companies, an excavating utility company must now generally follow “dig safe” procedures. In such procedures, the excavating utility announces their digging plans to a central agency. This central agency inspects records that it maintains of the conduits of other utilities that have been buried in the area that is to be excavated. The central agency relays the planned excavation to any affected utilities. These affected utilities then send out people to mark the exact locations of their buried conduits by spraying paint at appropriate locations on the ground. After this process is complete, the excavating utility company may begin digging with some assurances that it will not accidentally dig up other utilities' conduits. As is apparent, this “dig safe” process can be both labor-intensive and costly, and can cause delays in excavation projects.
Therefore, there exists a need for systems and methods that can eliminate the costly and labor-intensive procedures involved with the conventional “dig safe” process employed when an entity desires to excavate.